She pressed her lips to his. Zack had wanted this for so long that he was instantly all in, wrapping his arms around her. Memories of their young kisses got pushed aside by this new one full of mature emotions. Her warm lips were softer than he remembered from all those years ago, but she still tasted like cherry from her favorite lip gloss.
Finally, tired of the awkward position, he broke the kiss and rose, pulling Holly to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, loving the way she fit against him like God had made them a matched set.
When he brushed the flesh of her waist where her sweater had lifted, and her skin rippled under his fingers, Zack froze.This was all happening too fast. He had waited a long time for Holly to be ready forthem, but she was vulnerable tonight.
“What’s wrong?” Holly asked, dropping her hands to his chest.
“Nothing’swrong. I just think we need to slow down.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I don’t want to take advantage of… This is not coming out right.”
“Oh, Zack.” She lifted on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck before stepping back. “You’re right.” She flopped onto the couch again.
He didn’t know exactly what the tone in her voice meant, but he knew what he wanted, and he needed her to understand what it was. If the kiss had been a rebound because of the talk about her estranged family, then he wanted to know that now. So he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
Holly didn’t hesitate to lean into him. Zack sent a silent prayer of gratitude heavenward. They sat together in silence until his stomach rumbled.
“Oh, you poor thing,” she cried, jumping to her feet and turning to pull him to his. “You brought that pizza, and we’ve let it get cold.”
Zack needed to make sure Holly understood he wanted a romantic relationship with her. He stood next to her as they pulled out the dishes and later moved his chair, so he was sitting close to her rather than opposite her at the table. Then he shifted his foot to rest against hers, so they remained in touch.
When he did that, her cheeks flushed, but a smile teased the corners of her mouth. Something he had better not focus on too much.
He had been patient since finding her again last August. He could be patient a little longer.
CHAPTER 6
As Holly ate a slice of pizza, her mind kept going back to the kiss. Kisses, actually. Good grief, but she would never have dreamed of throwing herself at a man like that. There were plenty of guys who would have taken advantage of her vulnerability. Her heart swelled with gratitude that Zack wasn’t one of them. He was strong in the right ways. And brave.
Her gaze drifted to her phone, and she wondered again why Jason wanted to talk aboutthem. In the past, any time he had brought up their family, she shut him down. He knew she had no wish to speak about that time. Just thinking about them made her eyes burn again. The people she had always thought would support her through anything had turned against her.
No. Holly rubbed against the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to cry anymore.
“Have you had enough?” Zack asked.
“Yeah. Eat the rest.” She liked how he had placed his foot by hers, barely touching, but enough that she knew he was there. It reminded her of his subtle encouragement and support at camp during those two summers. He was still that awesome person but even better now.
“I could, but it’s not good to eat this much later in the day.” He leaned back in his chair and nodded at her phone. “What will you do about your brother?”
“Can I just ignore him?”
“He’s the last member of your family you still have contact with. Do you usually dismiss him for hours?”
Holly appreciated that there were no accusations in Zack’s words. It really did just sound like a simple question. She sighed.
“No. I’m sure he’s worried he hasn’t heard from me yet.”
“Do you want to see what he has to say?”
“I don’t,” she said, meaning it. “But I’ll bet he’s stuck between us, which is totally unfair to him.”
Zack only arched his brows expectantly.
“Fine. I’ll text him.”
With cold hands, she woke her phone.
Holly
Is now an okay time to talk?
